Titan Quest Gold

Titan Quest is a game I’ve gone back to a few times over the eight or so years since it came out. A straight, classic(al) Action RPG, I find it hard to fully justify why its calm ways engross me so much. Yet every so often it calls to me, so back once again I went. And found I couldn’t start. Not because of technology issues – it holds up extremely well – but because of that opening moment: it felt too good.>

OK, Nordic Games, the jig’s up. You can go ahead and change your name to THQ II: The Rise Of Mecha-Bilson already, because seriously, you just purchased the publisher’s legacy. Sure, Gearbox snagged Homeworld, and the company’s modern heavy hitters found new, loving homes, but Nordic now (pending court approval) owns nearly everything else>. Red Faction? Yep. Darksiders? Oh, certainly. And oh man, Titan Quest? Sure, why not. Supreme Commander too. And hey, remember Full Spectrum Warrior? I must admit, I – along with my good friend, Basically The Entire World – had forgotten about it, but Nordic deemed the military tactics sorta-sim worth salvaging. Here’s the kicker, though: all those? Only the tip of the iceberg.

You waited more than a decade. Diablo III’s finally out. You can even play it> when the server gods smile upon you. And it’s fun! But it won’t last forever. Randomly generated or not, you and the big red Lord of Destruction (no, not that one) will eventually grow apart. And then> what happens? What do you hack? Whom do you slash? Where do you find undead creatures carrying cracked pants? Well, there’s Torchlight II on the horizon, but let’s say you have an irrational vendetta against colors and smiling. That’s where Grim Dawn comes in. I mean, it has “grim” right in its title, and titles never lie. Perhaps somewhat more concrete, however, is the new Soldier Demolition Melee trailer, which is about as spooky and soul-crushing as they come. It crushes other things too – mostly spines, near as I can tell. But with former Titan Quest folks at the helm, I suppose that’s to be expected – and, so far, highly anticipated. Check out the full trailer below.

World of Warcraft developer Blizzard is working on a free-to-play title, according to a Develop report.

The site's anonymous source added that the studio is looking to expand business opportunities and develop both subscription and freemium titles, but didn't offer any further detail.

Blizzard declined to comment on the story.

If true, this wouldn't be the first time that Blizzard has dipped its toes into free-to-play - you can currently play World of Warcraft until your character reaches level 20 without opening your wallet.

"For us, and even for EA with the Star Wars game, I think that the value that you get for the $15 a month is just unmatched. I don't think you can get that amount of entertainment value anywhere. I'd put the $15 up against anything," he told Eurogamer.

Aside from Diablo 3, new WOW expansion Mists of Pandaria and the next two chapters in the StarCraft 2 trilogy, Blizzard has confirmed work is underway on a brand new MMO codenamed Titan.

A job posting for the role of franchise development producer on Blizzard's next MMO indicates that the developer is considering product placement and possibly in-game advertising for the game, codenamed Titan.

As well as various branding and merchandising responsibilities, the producer is to "work with major consumer brands to facilitate product placement and licensing within the world of Blizzard Entertainment's next-gen MMO that enhances the gameplay experience."

This is the first indication, and a strong one, that Titan is not a fantasy game, but is set in the present day or the future - potentially a near future.

Blizzard is notoriously protective of the integrity of its fictions and would be unlikely to consider the move if it wasn't harmonious with the game's setting - as suggested by the requirement that the licensing "enhances the gameplay experience".

Back in 2005, a Blizzard April Fool satirised the deal between Sony Online Entertainment and Pizza Hut that allowed players to order pizza from within EverQuest 2.

Blizzard has previously stated that Titan is a brand new franchise with new art, design and lore, and not related to its fantastical StarCraft, Warcraft or Diablo universes; president Mike Morhaime called it "something that's completely new and fresh". No other indication of the game's genre, platforms, gameplay or release date has been given.

Additionally, Steam Cloud integration has been added to many of your favorite THQ titles, allowing your game saves to travel with you wherever you play. Just launch your Steam copy of games like Metro 2033 and your game saves will be copied to the cloud.

Crate Entertainment, an indie development studio born out of the ashes of Titan Quest creators Iron Lore, have been working on their first major project for a while now. Grim Dawn, built using the tech behind Titan Quest, will hopefully be entering alpha at some point this year, and it’s a game we’re extremely excited to see. So we caught up with Crate’s core man, Arthur Bruno, to learn more. In a wonderful interview he tells us about the fall of Iron Lore, and the birth of Crate, explains where Titan Quest fell short, and how Grim Dawn is not attempting to appeal to casual players. In fact, it’s going to be actively hostile toward them. And he introduces us to the concept of rainbow farting machines.>